A few months ago, Bungie announced a partnership with the energy drink company Red Bull to bring fans of the game a timed-exclusive DLC mission, along with a bonus XP consumable. In order to receive the content, players had to unlock it by redeeming codes marked on specially-labeled Red Bull cans that they had purchased. However, Destiny’s cross-promotional idea hit a snag once fans’ legitimate keys were null and void after people went on to exploit the system without buying the products at all and by using stolen Red Bull promo codes.
Red Bull recently sent a fireteam of their own into its quest for The Taken King, which as revealed select details about the content. The company’s squad had to complete a revised version level 40 “The Sunless Cell” strike, in addition to a timed level 40 Shield Brothers strike. After defeating six shriekers and “taking out a specific Hallowed Thrall, the Unstable Core” in the first strike, 18 minute timer begins for the Shield Brothers strike.
Once gamers successfully finish the quest, they will be rewarded with a consumable item that upgrades the SR-0 Swiftriver Sparrow to the SR-1 Swiftriver. Apparently, the new transport model is a “faster version of the Sparrow received at the beginning of the quest.” Maybe receiving Red Bull’s vehicular-based prize can help Guardians excel at Year 2’s freshly included Sparrow racing Patrol mission.
For those of us not in the know, the quest’s availability begins once The Taken King is officially released on September 15 and then the promotion ends on December 31, 2015. However, according to the fine print on Red Bull’s own website, starting January 1, 2016, all of the content will then be available to anyone who owns Destiny’s new expansion without having to use a Red Bull code at all. Taking that into consideration, the whole campaign really just comes off as a lame ploy to get unwitting gamers to spend their money on sugary, over-caffeinated swill.
Bungie’s cooperation with the energy drink firm aside, the studio also forged a timed-exclusivity deal with Sony for The Taken King, providing the PlayStation with a strike and gear for an entire year before Xbox players can get them. Making content obtainable explicitly for one platform is one thing, but putting a timer on it is just a cheap business tactic on Bungie’s part, as it’s obvious they’re only doing it in an attempt to sell their limited edition Taken King PS4 consoles. Hopefully, in the future, game developers will either stick to making products solely for one medium, or create content that’s concurrently accessible for all available hardware.
Destiny: The Taken King is set to release on September 15, 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Source: IGN
